Palladium: fastest fund short build since 2015, 46 funds shortPalladium FuturesNYMEX_DL:PA1!NightbricksPalladium has lost about a fifth of its value since late August. The COT report shows hedge funds are not just watching. They are adding to the move. The build. In the CFTC report dated September 8, Managed Money (hedge funds and CTAs) held 9,106 short NYMEX palladium contracts. By October 13 it held 16,098, up 77 percent in five weeks. That is the fastest five week rise in fund shorts since July 2015. Long contracts barely moved, up 393, so the net short grew from 4,261 to 10,860 contracts, the biggest since May 2025. More sellers. 32 managed money traders were short on September 8. On October 6 there were 47, the most since May 2025, and 46 a week later. The long side stayed between 31 and 34 funds. Fresh positions. Open interest rose from 17,632 to 23,942 contracts, up 36 percent and the highest since December 2025. Falling price plus rising open interest means new positions, and fund shorts now equal 67 percent of all open interest. Since 2006 that share has been higher in only about 4 percent of weekly reports. How extreme. The 52 week z-score is minus 2.78, the most extreme reading among the major metals. The three year COT Index is 31, because the shorts of 2024 and early 2025 were deeper. The record net short is 16,210 contracts from August 2024. Funds have been net short every week since March 17, 2026. Metals compared. Funds are still net long gold and platinum. Palladium is the one metal where they are clearly positioned for lower prices. What we are watching. Whether the short count pushes past 50, which would mean the trade is still drawing new sellers. Whether open interest falls while price rises, the first sign of short covering in a small market where covering can move price fast. And the Fed on October 27 and 28, since palladium often trades with the precious metals complex on rate news. Data: CFTC Commitments of Traders (Disaggregated, futures and options combined), read through COTInsight. Not investment advice. Futures carry substantial risk.